Tax Type
Retail Sales and Use Tax
Description
Long distance phone calls; County Utility Taxes.
Topic
Local Taxes Discussion
Date Issued
06-25-1970
An attempt to subject long distance telephone calls to a local tax would violate interstate commerce law. Localities may impose tax on consumers of telegraph and telephone services, but not upon long distance calls. Neither the sale of bottled gas nor the sale of heating oil is a utility service. The imposition of any local general sales or use tax is prohibited. There is no authority permitting a county to impose a tax on the customers of a cable television company. Such a tax would be invalid.
Attorney General's Opinion